illwauk

I'd say the same thing, but there are three things that I think will keep IUPUI out of the HL. 1. The IU and Purdue directors don't want IUPUI's athletics program getting anywhere near as big as theirs... you put them in the Horizon and they take the next step towards being more powerful athletically. 2. They play in what equates to a small school gymnasium right now. 3. They don't play baseball. If Butler leaves, that brings the HL down to 5 baseball playing schools. You need six to have an automatic bid. 1. Believe me, I wish I could claim that the Horizon was just a notch under the Big Ten... or even within a handful of notches... but sadly, this is not the case. IU and PU would be ridiculously paranoid to block IUPUI from the Horizon for that reason. 2. I was about to say "Well so does Valpo" then I did some googling and... yeesh... Valpo looks like they play in an NBA arena compared to Ooey-Pooey. 3. I'm sure the Horizon knows baseball is a dying sport within its footprint and a couple of its programs (such as Milwaukee's) are already on shaky ground. Frankly, I'm surprised its lasted this long.

Oakland would be good insurance for the Horizon in case Detroit ever leaves. I'm also thinking IUPUI because the Horizon League would probably want to keep a Top 25 media market... particularly the one that's also home to the conference headquarters.

The true excitement comes in 2013 (when the all-sport move becomes official)...if you thought the 'Nova-Temple rivalry was fierce before, wait 'till it becomes a conference one! Once again, two questions come up: 1. Which FCS school is the MAC going after to replace Temple for football? 2. Which school is the A-10 going after to replace Temple for all other sports? 1. None likely 2. None likely 1. The MAC doesn't need and probably won't look to add another team. They did Temple a solid because they brought them into the fold and kept their football program from dying had they been left to the wolves as independents. To classify the MAC as a joke is just not true. They play quality football in the MAC and won the ESPN Bowl Challenge Trophy because they WON. They win in the MAC. Unfortunately not at Kent but they could finally maybe be turning the corner. 2. The Atlantic 10 may stay at 13 or let another team go awawy for the even dozen. And we might have our answer for #2: Two-time national runners-up Butler! Personally, I say it would be a good move if it happens...increases the A-10's profile even more (especially now that they got four bids) and also puts a bit of a bridge between Dayton/Xavier and St. Louis geographically-wise. Saw this coming... the last two school that had as much success as Butler in the Horizon League (Xavier) bolted for the A-10 as well. I hope this is the kick in the arse our athletic department needs to add football. Without it, we're doomed to Midwest college basketball purgatory as the Horizon League would become the Mid-Continent ca. 1993 plus Loyola and Detroit... two other schools the A-10 would probably target once Charlotte and UMass leave.

Was not aware of this... that alone makes K-State a more attractive choice than Kansas. Never. It kind of goes against the whole "pretending to have been part of the Confederacy" thing that many Kentuckians seem so fond of. Out-of-conference games exist.

I thought about Kansas too, and I really wouldn't be upset if they joined the B1G. Their brand of football and basketball would fit right in, they'd be both a natural and traditional rival for Nebraska and they'd definitely boost the league's basketball profile. Something tells me that if the B1G did extend and invitation to KU, nothing short of a bill passed by the Kansas legislature would prevent the Jayhawks from abandoning K-State. It's debatable how much of a following Rutgers really has in NYC and the B1G already has a huge alumni base in the Northeast given how many students at schools like Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern and especially Penn State come from the east coast. The Big Ten Network is already on NYC cable systems for this reason. I don't see how the MAC is a joke when they've never pretended to be anything other than a conference for the smaller programs in B1G country. The only reason they even took on schools like UMass, Temple and Buffalo (which isn't even that far outside of their footprint to begin with) is because there's no smaller conference in the Northeast for them to go to.

Hmm... good point. In that case, who would the Big Ten balance out Notre Dame with? The only way I see Texas being able to sell a move to the Big Ten to their alumni is if A&M and Oklahoma come with (since one or the other would just put the B1G back at square one). Maybe Pitt (which is stomachable), or Maryland (not so much)?

Well... good. Rutgers doesn't belong in the Big Ten anyway and fits in much better with the ACC both culturally (now that they also have Pitt, Syracuse and BC) and academically. Now that the Big Ten is at 12 teams, it makes no sense for them to expand for anyone not named Notre Dame, and even if that happens, there's no guarantee that they'll add another team. They did play with a lopsided number of members for the better part of two decades, after all.

Because a 16-team playoff would require an at-large team to prove itself against four other playoff-caliber teams to win the championship. I don't buy the idea that the Butler's, George Mason's and VCU's of the college hoops world merely "survive" to the Final Four. If the so-called "power conference" teams were so great, they should have no problem "surviving" as well. All the whining about mid-majors making it deep in the playoffs/bowls comes from supporters of big-time schools who are butthurt about not seeing their teams playing in games they think its their birthright to see them in.

Aaron Rodgers at Brewers spring training with that "other" MVP.

Well, the Lakers scheme made sense because, at the time, the Kings and Lakers were owned by the same guy (Jack Kent Cooke, who also owned the Redskins), and they shared the Forum. Wow... didn't know that. But honestly, what makes more sense than purple and gold for a team called the Kings? I wouldn't deny that the switch to silver and black was to ride the Raiders coattails, but they had perfectly logical reasons to use purple & gold that had nothing to do with being the "Lakers-on-ice." Ironically, when they mixed their original purple with the Raiders-era silver and black, they ended up looking like they were cribbing the Sac Kings identity when they had the Kings name first.

Nevermind that that bowls were designed to be post-season exhibitions and didn't actually count in the standings for quite some time (until the late 1960s IIRC). It never made any sense to use them to determine champions in the first place.

I'd probably hate them on any other jersey for looking like NASCAR numbers, but for the Hurricanes, that makes them regionally appropriate. Beautiful sweater!

Since they're finally making moves that make sense, they should probably go after UMass as well.

I'm predicting BYU and/or Louisville as the next school to join the Big XII, though they'll probably also invite Houston once Texas leaves.

I doubt this alignment is going to stay intact for too long though. There's already talk of Louisville going to the Big XII and with the inevitable loss of Texas and Oklahoma looming overhead, they'll probably look towards Houston and/or Boise State, especially if they can't get BYU.

Please don't link to bleacher report. In fact, stop reading bleacher report. Legit news source here. I'm guessing the Big East is seeing the writing on the wall and knowing its only future as a football conference (if any) is providing a place for basketball-oriented schools to park their less popular football programs. I'd look for them to go after Kansas next.

Yes, they do. This is by far the best the Packers have looked in the past decade. My dream Packers set is this, the equivalent home version... ...and this as an alt (see top left): Thank you for scanning that, BTW!

I think it should be no fewer than 9, but I'll take what I can get.

Louisville would make sense as a travel partner for West Virginia, but basketball is their "flagship" sport and the Big East has a stronger basketball conference than the Big XII... than again, maybe they'd rather be in a conference they can dominate.

Isn't the bigger question if there will be a Big East Conference in any form in 2015? The Big East could have USF, Uconn, UofL, WVU (if they stay), Boise St., San Diego St., Navy, Cincy, Houston, SMU, UCF, and possibly Air Force. I fully expect these schools to jump to the Big XII when they have to fill in for the inevitable loss of Texas, Oklahoma and possibly Okie State. I'd also add SMU if not for TCU already having Dallas-Fort Worth covered for them. If the Big East is smart, they'll start using their depleted conference as a place for basketball schools with less-than-stellar football programs to park their teams. Hello Memphis, UMass and Kansas (probably the only current Big XII school that might be better off in the Big East). Welcome back Temple. Goodbye geographic integrity!

If I'm the basketball schools in the Big East, I'm either trying to force the football conference to call itself something besides the Big East to maintain what little dignity the conference has left, or starting a movement with the other hoops schools to break away and form our own conference even if it means moving the tournament away from MSG for a few years (I say a few years because how long would MSG want to host a tournament that featured South Florida and SMU rather than Georgetown, Villanova and St. John's?)

Can they really compete in the SEC, though? The payroll of those teams tend to be way higher than the Jaguars.

I don't know if this is POTD material, but it got a legit LOL from me.

You're the guy! Oh, you already knew that I'm that guy. Current scheme = terrific. Germanic unis > all other Brewers unis. Totally agree. Once they dumped the "Motre Bame" hat in favor of "M", that was their best. This. I could take or leave the first version of the Germanic unis, but the latter version was perfect. Shame it was only around for three years and had to be associated with Wendy "Bud In Drag" Selig's reign of terror.

Sifting through the homer-eroticism in this post (Boise didn't exactly have much more of a fanbase or prestige than Idaho when they came to D1-A), you have a point. Athletes who can play at the FBS certianly don't want to spend 4-5 years playing the game they love in what could easily double as a livestock hall. While you can't blame Idaho for trying to make the jump with Boise, the programs have moved in completely opposite directions since then. You could call it a downgrade (I'd think of it as addition by subtraction), but it sure seems like Idaho belongs in the Big Sky where they can play the likes of Idaho State and the Montana schools.